Darkest Days
by upfrombelow94
Summary: While Misty tries to comfort her newly found - and recently blinded - friend, Cordelia, the two face some surprising dangers.


_\- Set after 3x08. -_

 **Darkest Days**

Still enthused by the newness of her environment, Misty Day flowed through all of the chambers she could find; spinning occasionally in order to evoke a magical, mystical feeling — and, of course, as an ode to Stevie Nicks.

Her curiosity had always been one of her most distinct characteristics. Although it was something she was proud of, she couldn't deny that it had certainly got her into trouble multiple times before. But now that she was a witch, nothing could throw her off the throne anymore, she believed. She had been feeling her powers growing stronger throughout the last few weeks and she might even be the new Supreme. At least that's what Myrtle Snow said, and Myrtle Snow was the Head of the Council, so it had to be true. It had to be.

Misty spun again, exuberantly, feeling like the pioneer of the Coven. When she stopped, she saw Cordelia through the windows of her greenhouse and the joy in her face suddenly vanished. Watching the blind Headmistress slide her hands over the flasks in order to find the right one left the swamp witch with a feeling of pity and guilt. Cordelia had always been the radiant warmth in this Coven and now she, out of all of them, was left without eyesight.

She resolved to enter the green-blooming zone without giving it any more thought, and even though her intention was to do it gently, she bursted into it with a rather loud, accent-heavy, "Hello, Miss Cordelia."

Not expecting any company, Cordelia turned and accidentally knocked over one of her flasks.

"Shit!" Cordelia's face filled with anger.

Met with another wave of guilt, Misty rushed to Cordelia's feet where thousands of shards had assembled and covered the floor.

"I'm so sorry, I..." she started to collect some of the broken pieces in her hand, quickly realizing that she tried to fight a losing battle.

Cordelia felt Misty's presence and started reaching out into air until her hand finally found the young witch's head. She patted the top of her wavy hair softly in an attempt to comfort her.

"It's okay; I have more than one of these, you know."

A gentle smile graced her face, making Misty feel better when she didn't think it possible given her embarrassment. She returned the smile and then realized, with a hint of sadness, that it would not be seen no matter how high she drew the corners of her mouth.

The young witch let the glass pieces fall to the floor and rose from her knees slowly.

"I just wanted to thank ya again for taking me in. I really appreciate it. This is the first time I feel like I… _belong_ somewhere, ya know?"

"I'm glad." Cordelia searched for Misty's hand with hers. The latter noticed her opponent's effort and, in an attempt to make it easier, immediately offered her hand.

"This is our mission. To protect the lives of each witch and to save the Coven."

For some reason, Misty's attention was caught by the blank stare in Cordelia's eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed to be looking at her injuries this closely.

"You're too kind," Misty said absentmindedly.

Cordelia could sense her student's proximity merely by listening to her voice and by feeling her breath on her face. Moved by an unknown impulse, the Headmistress placed both of her hands on Misty's cheeks, being greeted by skin softer than she had expected.

Just when Misty closed her eyes to enjoy the surprising nature of her teacher's caressing, all of a sudden, she could feel something cold and hard being pressed to her neck. Shocked, she instinctively turned around only to find Cordelia's husband pointing a gun directly at her.

"Misty?" Cordelia asked, startled by her student's sudden movements.

"Miss Cordelia…"

Taking a few steps back, Misty tried to grab the Headmistress' arm unsuspiciously, signaling her to do the same.

"Don't you dare touch her, witch bitch!" Hank screamed in anger, the veins on his face popping.

"Hank?!" Cordelia said in confusion, not following Misty's lead.

"I knew you were cheating on me. I knew it."

" _You_ cheated on _me_ , Hank. We are over." The Headmistress said in a surprisingly calm voice, not aware of the dangers they were facing.

"Bullshit!"

He let his gun-holding arm sweep over one of the shelves, knocking down all of the various plants and bottles on it.

The two women flinched at the sound, Cordelia still unsure of what was happening.

"He…" Misty whispered as quietly as possible, "he has a gun."

Once she thought about it, Misty realized that with her gift — the power of resurgence — she didn't need to fear guns and, technically, neither did Cordelia. Still, the common sense in her told her to be afraid, because in the end, she didn't trust her powers to never fail her.

"With that little… bitch. I never knew you were a dyke," he said tauntingly, keeping his arm in the same threatening position.

"Hank, I didn't—"

Not letting her finish, Hank rushed over to his wife and slapped her across the face as hard as he could, causing Cordelia to drop to the floor. Without making any sound mirroring the harsh pain that she felt, she merely covered her face with her hands.

Misty stepped forward protectively.

"Now that was not nice," she said in her thick Southern accent, "I would appreciate it if you handed over the gun. You can't kill us anyways."

"Oh yeah? And who says that, stupid little slut?"

Before she could answer, a silent, air-filled cry escaped Hank's mouth while, at the same time, both of his hands fell down to the side, allowing the gun to slide out of his hand. Gradually realizing what was happening, Misty watched a puddle of blood assemble at his feet. Hank then dropped to the floor, revealing a self-confident Fiona, who was standing behind him with a blood-covered knife clutched in her right hand.

"I do," she answered Hank's question and casually threw the knife to the ground next to where his lifeless body lay.

The Supreme didn't hesitate to light herself a cigarette and disappeared with a raspy and low-voiced _You're welcome_ directed at the two startled witches.

"What happened?!"

Cordelia's face was filled with horror and Misty immediately went to help Cordelia up. Bracing herself on the swamp witch, the Headmistress tightened her grip around her arms once they were both standing.

"Hank… your mother… she…"

Unsure of what to say, or rather how to say it, Misty looked over to the blood-leaking corpse before looking back into Cordelia's milky eyes. Suddenly, she could see tears well up in them while feeling her teacher's body sink in grief. Misty hugged her as tightly as possible in order to both comfort her and to keep her from falling.

"It's okay, Miss Cordelia," she said in a desperate attempt to dispel the older witch's pain.

Not being able to hold her teacher's weight any longer, both witches dropped to the floor. Now that they were kneeling next to each other, Misty couldn't help but give in to the weight of her own tears.

Feeling her student's arms wrapped around her fragile body, Cordelia was surprised by the slightest hint of positive energy she didn't think she could feel anymore. Her life, which had increasingly become a sequence of moments of despair and death, seemed to catch a glimpse of hope — of resurgence — that undoubtedly radiated from the swamp witch. All of a sudden, the Headmistress was overcome with a strong feeling, a conviction that she could conquer anything, finding comfort in the fact that it was Misty who knelt beside her in her darkest days.

THE END.


End file.
